Think You Need An Awesome Home Studio? Here’s David Byrne’s Reality Check!

david-byrne-studio

Think you need an awesome home studio to make that awesome track/hit song/killer demo?

Maybe it’s time for David Byrne’s reality check!

Here’s what he has to say about his home studio, above:

There is no professional sound baffling, but the floors of this industrial building are concrete — and I put industrial carpet down on the floor, and one wall is a kind of sound absorbent sheetrock. Unless a truck backfires or an ambulance goes by it is OK for recording vocals and guitars. There’s no room for drums or anything like that… but for writing it is fine. There’s a good tube mic for singing, a radio studio mic for the little old guitar amp and a nice pre amp and compressor.

It’s a mess, it’s not much, but amazingly, some of the vocals I’ve done here end up being keepers.

This comes from a long post by Byrne that discusses how he works and how he collaborates with other musicians.

Byrne goes on to explain his thoughts on working with the limitations of collaboration:

There’s a joy and relief in being limited, restrained.

For starters, to let someone else make half the decisions, or some big part of them, absolves one of the need to explore endless musical possibilities. The result is fewer agonizing decisions in the writing process, and sometimes, faster results.

So, next time you hit a musical brick wall:

  • Limit your gear options;
  • Stop thinking about your studio and start thinking about your music; and
  • Collaborate with other musicians.

13 thoughts on “Think You Need An Awesome Home Studio? Here’s David Byrne’s Reality Check!”

  3. Good advice. I'm just starting to realize that I don't need a lot of gear to make music. I was buying gear I thought I needed, but I never ended up using it and it just made me feel overwhelmed.

  4. Well, that's all fine and good for a home *project* studio, but I'm sure Davy goes to a pro studio for finished product. And he's working in the confines of a pop aesthetic – limited options abound! Some of us working with the computer have abandoned the idea of "recording," replacing it with the more appropriate working model of "rendering" sound. A half-assed studio set up just won't cut it. Also, a little bit of pre-comp goes a long way with regard to having focused (as opposed to limited) options.

  5. Good advice. I'm just starting to realize that I don't need a lot of gear to make music. I was buying gear I thought I needed, but I never ended up using it and it just made me feel overwhelmed.

  6. He's dead right — make music with what you have. Limitations push creativity and problem solving.

    I see the Bitte Orca sleeve in the lower right corner. Never hurts to have some inspiration, too.

  7. He's dead right — make music with what you have. Limitations push creativity and problem solving.

    I see the Bitte Orca sleeve in the lower right corner. Never hurts to have some inspiration, too.

  8. Well, that's all fine and good for a home *project* studio, but I'm sure Davy goes to a pro studio for finished product. And he's working in the confines of a pop aesthetic – limited options abound! Some of us working with the computer have abandoned the idea of "recording," replacing it with the more appropriate working model of "rendering" sound. A half-assed studio set up just won't cut it. Also, a little bit of pre-comp goes a long way with regard to having focused (as opposed to limited) options.

  9. Well, that's all fine and good for a home *project* studio, but I'm sure Davy goes to a pro studio for finished product. And he's working in the confines of a pop aesthetic – limited options abound! Some of us working with the computer have abandoned the idea of "recording," replacing it with the more appropriate working model of "rendering" sound. A half-assed studio set up just won't cut it. Also, a little bit of pre-comp goes a long way with regard to having focused (as opposed to limited) options.

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